Travel Alert: Runway Maintenance at San Diego International Airport Until October 26, 2018

If you plan on traveling to or from San Diego International Airport, note that its only runway — as well as its taxiways — are undergoing rehabilitation in the form of reconstruction and paving, which could result in flight delays.

Travel Alert: Runway Maintenance at San Diego International Airport Until October 26, 2018

According to this official memorandum from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States, the airport will be closed every evening — except on Sunday — between the hours of midnight through 5:00 in the morning Pacific Standard Time through Friday, October 26, 2018:

This paving project requires the closure of RY 09/27 each evening Monday through Saturday. ILS system out of service during the closure. Airport will not accept arrival or departure operations. During the Taxiway B1 phase of the project, aircraft with wingspans greater than 118′ will be required to cross the runway and depart from Taxiway C1. Weather or mechanical delays will not constitute just reasoning to delay the start of the nightly closure, plan accordingly.

Summary

This maintenance project began back on Thursday, November 2, 2017; but I did not know about it until I read about this experience imparted by InsideFlyer member Zomby Woof: “I got caught up in the new strict curfew of midnight (0000 to 0500) at SAN last week. My flight from IAH->SAN was delayed and since it wouldn’t get in until after midnight, the flight was changed to land at LAX with UA providing buses to SAN. Landed in LAX about 0030 and got to SAN at 0330. Ugh!”

Most flights to and from San Diego International Airport should operate as normal and experience minimal delays at worst; but if you arrive on a later flight, note this line from the aforementioned memorandum: “Weather or mechanical delays will not constitute just reasoning to delay the start of the nightly closure, plan accordingly.”

To minimize the chance of experiencing a similar situation as Zomby Woof, try to avoid booking travel with a flight which is scheduled to land at San Diego International Airport later in the day or evening; and instead, schedule yourself to take an earlier flight — or use an alternative airport in southern California and arrange for ground transportation to your final destination.